Building A Quasi New Computer Advice

[Suicane75]

I've been trying real hard to crunch the numbers for a new computer for a while now but it just aint adding up. So my next option, which got me a bit excited, was to swap out the good from the machine I have and just put in the few select pieces I need.

What I have,
Radeon 9550 Video Card
Creative SB Audigy 2 Sound Card
Teac DVD+RW DV-W58E
JLMS DVD-Rom XJ-HD166

What I'll need,
Fan
Motherboard
Chip
Ram

Is it safe to assume that any board and chip I get will support the pieces I already have? The machine and it's parts are all 8 years old except for the video card which is 4-5 years old.

Secondly, and forgive me if these are dumb questions, but how much difference is their between a $60 board and $150 board and does more ram help offset it?

I'm not looking for much more than a simple little computer that's relatively quick and dependable. I don't do hardcore gaming but I'd like it to have some power behind it.

[sovereignstar v2]

So what's your budget then? That video card is from 2004 and you will have a difficult time finding motherboards that have an AGP slot, which is used by your dinosaur card. Best to find an entry-level card from this decade. Your optical drives are probably PATA and that will complicate things as well. The more expensive motherboards just provide more features and more reliability.

You want my opinion? Sell all your dolls and fork out several hundred dollars more so you have a computer that will last you another 5+ years.

[sabotai]

You will definitely need a new graphics card. I doubt you'll find a mobo with an AGP slot. Newegg doesn't even let you filter mobo searches by AGP slot anymore. But even the budget cards today are much better than your card so that won't be a big cost.

Your sound card needs a PCI (the regular kind) slot. Vast majority of mobos have them, but it's something you should double check before buying. Never assume it will have it because "why the hell wouldn't it!?".....I've made that mistake.

Since you're not looking for a gaming rig, if you can swing $400-$500, desktop computers a pretty cheap these days and that will be enough to get you a decent computer. All together, mobo + CPU + graphics card + RAM....you're looking at around that cost anyway.

[Suicane75]

Sov, my board is SATA. I got one of the first boards that had them, that much I know. Also, my dolls are hardly worth that much.

But I get your guys point and am now deflated. I didn't realize boards had changed so much.

[Suicane75]

One last question, and I appreciate your guys advice so far.
This motherboard,
Newegg.com - BIOSTAR A770E3 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138179)

Will not support my video card?

[sabotai]

No AGP slot on that board. Unless your graphics card is PCI, no, it won't.

[sovereignstar v2]

You aren't going to find a mobo with an AGP slot at Newegg...